Ice show: The United States is talking about joining Greenland again
President of the United States Donald Trump has appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as the US special envoy to Greenland. Immediately after assuming his new position, the politician made a loud statement that he would try to annex the autonomous region of Denmark — Greenland — to the territory of the United States. His words predictably caused a negative reaction from the European public. This event took place against the background of another scandal related to the American establishment, the new publication of the Epstein Files. Why the topic of Greenland began to be "rocked" again and whether Washington's words can turn into actions is in the Izvestia article.
Statements on Greenland's accession to the United States: what is known
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has been appointed U.S. Special Envoy for Greenland. The politician wrote on the social network X that he would try to annex the autonomous region of Denmark to the United States. "It is an honor for me to carry out tasks in this voluntary position to make Greenland a part of the United States," Landry said. He also added that the appointment and new duties "will have no effect" on his work as governor of the state. US President Donald Trump expressed the opinion that Jeff Landry perfectly "understands that Greenland is vital for national security and will resolutely defend the interests of the United States for the sake of security."
Governor of Louisiana Jeff Landry
After the special envoy took office and made loud statements about the annexation of the island, US Ambassador Ken Howery was summoned to the kingdom's Foreign Ministry to "put forward two demands: to speak clearly and demand an explanation." "I am deeply outraged by this appointment and the statement, which I consider completely unacceptable," the country's foreign minister, Lars Loekke Rasmussen, said in an interview with Danish television channel TV2.
In turn, the head of the island's representative office, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, clarified that the words of the new US special envoy do not change anything, and the territory still belongs to the Greenlanders. "We have woken up again with a new statement by the American president, who appointed a special envoy to Greenland. It may sound big, but it doesn't change anything for us at home. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders, and territorial integrity must be respected. We are happy to cooperate with other countries, including the United States," he wrote on Facebook (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia).
The European Commission also expressed its readiness to protect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Denmark after the statements of the new US special envoy to Greenland, Jeff Landry, about plans to annex the island to the United States. This was announced by the representative of the European Commission Anwar al-Anuni at a briefing in Brussels. "For the European Union, the protection of Denmark's territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of borders is of key importance," the official stressed.
Earlier, almost immediately after taking office as the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump announced that he intended to establish American control over the autonomous region of Denmark. Earlier, the American leader threatened Denmark with high trade duties if it did not abandon the island. During his first term, Trump even offered to buy Greenland, but the Danish authorities rejected this idea.
Trump and the Files
On Friday, December 19, the Department of Justice published the first files on the Jeffrey Epstein case after Donald Trump signed the relevant bill at the end of November. The declassified materials consist of about 8,000 scanned documents divided into four blocks: photographs taken during the searches (the first), cards from the criminal's personal archive (the second and third), and text recordings (the fourth). The images released by the Ministry of Justice feature celebrities who are accused of having ties to Epstein: Michael Jackson, David Copperfield, Kevin Spacey, Noam Chomsky and others. Special attention was paid to the pictures of the 42nd President of the United States Bill Clinton with unknown girls.
The archive contains a lot of candid photos of young girls. A significant part of the images is completely or partially blacked out. Text documents have also been edited, including completely "depersonalized" pages. According to Deputy U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Justice Department concealed about 1.2 thousand names of victims and their relatives, as well as materials containing personal information about victims, sexual crimes against minors, information related to "national defense or foreign policy, or that could interfere with the ongoing investigation."
The current president of the United States is also present in some of the photos. The journalists noted that on December 21, approximately 16 "Epstein files" disappeared from the website of the Ministry of Justice, including publications with the image of the American leader. Representatives of the Democratic Party immediately accused the government of failing to fulfill "legal obligations to fully disclose investigative documents." Later, the Ministry of Justice restored the photo and stated that it had hidden it for "reasons of excessive caution."
«...The Ministry of Justice temporarily deleted the image for additional verification. After verification, it was found that there was no evidence that the photo depicted any victims of Epstein and it was re-published without any changes or censorship," the US Department of Justice said in a statement.
Vladimir Vasiliev, chief researcher at the Institute of the USA and Canada, told Izvestia that the reason for Washington's new statements about the annexation of Greenland was the publication of the Epstein files and, subsequently, the possible impeachment of Trump. They started talking about him back in the spring of 2025, but now the president's associates in the Republican Party have already picked up this topic.
— The driving forces are the Epstein files and the prospect of Trump's impeachment. Therefore, he raises the stakes: how can you "remove" a person who has grown more than 2,000 km to the territory of the United States? — the expert specified.
Greenland's journey to America and back
Vladimir Vasiliev shared his opinion that the annexation of Greenland to the United States has entered the "final phase" and it will be carried out one way or another in one of two ways: peace or war.
— This joining can be done using two methods. The first is to hold a possible referendum or something like that, so that there is a transition period. The second way is to join by force. The Americans will land troops and take control of the island without encountering any resistance from the Greenlanders. Whether this territory will be a separate state or a protectorate is another matter," the expert explained.
Roman Zhilin, a junior researcher at the European Security Department of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, on the contrary, considers the scenario of annexation of the autonomous region of Denmark unrealistic in the current conditions. The inconsistent policy of the Americans' presence in Greenland creates hostility towards their actions. A striking example of this is the appointment of a new special envoy.
— Even if Greenland were to become part of the United States, developing the northern territories in terms of social, energy and economic security is a serious and long—term investment. And the United States does not always cope with this. It is worth remembering the deplorable state of Alaska. <...> Russia is concerned about the growing military and political presence of NATO countries in the Arctic, which poses challenges and threats to the sovereignty of the state. If the "joining" had been forceful or undemocratic, it would have become a sharp surge in such a military-political presence and a serious signal to the entire Arctic community, the expert is sure.
Nikita Belukhin, a junior researcher at the Department of European Political Studies at the IMEMO RAS, noted that there are currently no significant obstacles to expanding the US military or economic presence in Greenland. Plus, tensions have been rising on the island lately, as the Danish authorities are in no hurry to acquire weapons and military equipment to ensure Arctic security.
— It cannot be ruled out that Trump will again put pressure on Denmark due to insufficient defense efforts in the Arctic and the North Atlantic. Greenland is much more closely connected with the security of North America itself than with the European continent, therefore, the emergence of a special command structure for the defense of Greenland by analogy with the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) cannot be ruled out," the expert concluded.
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